4.2 Housing Update

[LineageRazor]

Exactly this. Too many people look at the exception and make it the norm. There aren't enough players with more than one house to make a dent in the demand for housing. By forcing the return of houses SE does nothing more than make more of their player base upset and causes additional problems related to cash shop item handling. It is better to grandfather current multi-house owners and let them come to the market through attrition. If they wan to incent people to freely give up extra houses adding the automatic ability for alts to share housing would go a long way. Even this won't fix the problem. There are only two options for SE to resolve the housing issue. Add enough wards so every FC and player can have a house or create a fully instanced housing system where housing is effectively unlimited. They could even keep both, keeping the current wards for those who are willing to live with its restrictions and a parallel instanced system where they lift the item number restrictions, allow for upgrades on the same plot, etc.

The people who will be upset will almost exclusively be the people who have the extra houses, along with a handful of unaffected people with misplaced empathy. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, as they knowingly abused the system to horde an extremely limited resource. And, as was stated, there aren't many of these people. Even if 100% of the folks affected quit the game in disgust after having their homes taken away, it would hardly put a dent in the subscription base. It should go without saying that not even close to 100% of folks affected will do this; maybe a small handful, with the remainder grumbling on the forums a while before everyone eventually forgets about it all.

By the same token, there aren't many of these people. Taking their homes away will not suddenly flood the servers with available housing. To me, though, gaining new housing is not the reason to do it, but rather to FINALLY address an injustice that has been tolerated for far too long. I mean, seriously; the moment SE announced that FC housing was going to be our personal housing as well, folks knew it was going to be a limited resource. Hoarders did not go in blind.

[Claviusnex]

The people who will be upset will almost exclusively be the people who have the extra houses, along with a handful of unaffected people with misplaced empathy. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, as they knowingly abused the system to horde an extremely limited resource.

There has been no abuse of the system. They bought houses in exactly the manner SE wanted them to buy houses. When SE designed the system and allowed personal houses they decided that it was on a character basis so intended for a player to have the ability to own more than one house. Since it is as designed it isn't abuse. You and others keep blaming the players when housing is entirely SE's fault. Instead of crying selfishly, "If I can't have it then nobody should" maybe y'all should worry that SE is still not doing enough to ensure adequate housing for the player base with 4.2.

[Besame]

The only people that abused housing are the ones that buy and flip for huge profits. The few that bought many to decorate like whole wards have other issues *rolls eyes*. The multiple plot owners should be given "X" amount of time to sell/demolish/give away, whatever, any more than 1 plot per main and allow alts to inhabit the main's property with all privileges. SE did allow multiples per account after all so to me, one house per alt was not abuse. Now that housing has become such an issue SE needs to step up and deal with it. I have 1 med house, 1 apt and am co-manager of 2x FCs (1 of which is my husbands, the other my friend's). I could of bought a house on my alt but I chose not to. There is something to be said for not being a glutton and sharing with others in my mind anyway. Allowing FCs to have first shot at the additional housing wards irks me because the system abuse is already in motion since the announcement came forth. It would be an advantage to the 2x FC's I am in but a pita to single purchasers that have been waiting equally as long for a shot at not being totally homeless.

[worldofneil]

The only people that abused housing are the ones that buy and flip for huge profits.

SE did allow multiples per account after all so to me, one house per alt was not abuse.

Agreed, the system was setup so players could buy 1 personal character and 1 FC house per character. Not abuse, just how the system was designed.

The multiple plot owners should be given "X" amount of time to sell/demolish/give away, whatever, any more than 1 plot per main

Woah there! You just said they did nothing wrong. Why are you trying to punish them now? Because they have something you'll now never be able to get? (multiple houses).

Also sell/giveaway won't really be options with 4.2 either. There is no official sell function and I can't see many people wanting to "buy" a plot if they can't have some guarantee that they'll get it with the new random timer.

Same for giveaway, no guarantee that the person you're giving it to will be able to get it. That only leaves demolish and literally no incentive for anyone to do that.

Now that housing has become such an issue SE needs to step up and deal with it.

Well going forward people will only be able to buy 1 personal house etc.

I could of bought a house on my alt but I chose not to.

Okay. The option was there though.

There is something to be said for not being a glutton and sharing with others.

You just said at the start of your post "SE did allow multiples per account after all so to me, one house per alt was not abuse", but anyone that actually did that is a glutton?

[Besame]

Gluttony is not deliberate abuse, it's a behavior issue. There is a distinction between a behavior and intended millions of gained gil for profit abuse. Fortunately, I don't have this behavior. What I am stating is: if SE continues to make wards without standards for purchase, eg., 1 per acct/main with alts receiving all privileges, this problem will continue. If people can abuse OR work around the system they will find a way unless SE places a total stop gap on purchasing any way but one. In any case, time will tell after 4.2. I won't hold my breath that anything I have read from them so far will come to fruition, after all, Read "A:" in my comment. Their word means nothing until the fat lady sings.

[Zigabar]

In any case, time will tell after 4.2. I won't hold my breath that anything I have read from them so far will come to fruition, after all, Read "A." in my comment. Their word means nothing until the fat lady sings.

While I'm happy for the grandfathering being clarified, for my own gluttonous reasons, I do agree with you on taking their current stance at face value. I, personally, have already taken action to ensure that if they eventually change their mind, on keeping players with multiple houses grandfathered in, that I will not be losing my 2nd FC. Your signature is a prime example of them being capable of changing their minds along with my personal experience of losing grandfather status on other products/services.

[worldofneil]

Your signature is a prime example of them being capable of changing their minds along with my personal experience of losing grandfather status on other products/services.

Personally I always think that's it's unfair to hold to them what they wrote back in that live letter. That was said over a month before they even released housing and two years before they actually bought in reclamation of inactive housing.

I'm sure at the time they said that they meant it, but 2 years later it seems that wasn't possible any more (and it probably didn't help that a lot of the community were actually demanding that they added in demolition because they didn't like all the unused houses sat around).